Final Finesse

Samantha Reid has been climbing the political ladder in Washington D.C., her wagon hitched to the star of the new Chief of Homeland Security, landing her the job of Deputy Assistant to the President for Homeland Security. But, when the country is wracked by a series of explosions in natural gas pipelines, she realizes that something serious is going on. Her boss does not believe that the explosions are anything but accidents, leaving Samantha to finesse the government into action. When she meets GeoGlobal Oil & Gas VP Tripp Adams, she meets the love that she has been looking for. And when Tripp is kidnapped in Venezuela, Samantha cannot just stand by, but must get right into the action. This is going to tax her abilities to the utmost, but the stakes are too high to sit back. Sometimes you need a little finesse, and sometimes you need a LOT! This is a very good thriller - I liked the peep into the inner workings of Washington D.C. that Karna Small Bodman (one-time Senior Director of the National Security Council!) gives the reader. I thought that the action was good, and that romance angle was excellently done, giving Samantha and Tripp a great chemistry. Great book, exciting read. I highly recommend it! (Review of Final Finesse by Karna Small Bodman)

If one tries the difficult task of assigning this book to a genre, it must first be recognized that Karna Bodman is building a bridge between action thrillers and the vast world of women readers. That makes "Final Finesse" action-thriller-chick-lit, a darn good idea, since women buy the majority of books these days. Couple that with the author's experience at high levels of government as a former Senior Director of the National Security Council, and you get a timely story of internationally-inspired domestic terrorism. The action centers around Samantha Reid, White House Deputy Director for Homeland Security, and a series of mysterious explosions that cripple the nation's natural gas pipeline infrastructure. The subplot is her growing romance with Trippe Adams, vice president of the pipeline company. For me, a career technocrat, the ingenious way the terrorists blow up the pipelines is fascinating. As an aside, it is sometimes argued that novelists should not suggest new ways for terrorists to attack us, but I take the view that those who might be affected--like the owners of our vulnerable gas pipeline systems--should either have anticipated the threat, or should learn from the novelist. All that said, I admit the thing that fascinated me the most about this book was Bodman's description of what goes on in a woman's mind when she thinks she has found the man of her dreams. What does a woman think when the prospect of sex arises? What does she think DURING sex? (I know the male viewpoint.) This is the first Karna Small Bodman book I have read, and it will not be the last! Chet Nagle is author of Iran Covenant

Not just the Deputy Assistant to the President for Homeland Security, Samantha Reid knows something about the gas and oil business. And when a gas pipeline explodes in a completely new and unexpected way, she right away becomes suspicious. Her close work with corporate executive Tripp Adams leads to romance, and the pair attempt to get to the bottom of the increasing explosions. And when Tripp disappears on a visit to Venezuela, Samantha realizes that she must become personally involved. There's a sinister plot underway, and Samantha and Tripp are now right in the middle of it. I tripped across this book, and I must say that I was pleasantly surprised. The author did a very good job of combining intrigue and suspense with romance to make an eminently readable book. I found the way that the government reacted to the sabotage to be interesting and very believable, and I really enjoyed how the story sped up and got quite suspenseful after the kidnapping of Tripp. Well, I don't know, I guess you can't please all of the people with any one book, but I must say that I was pleased. I don't hesitate to recommend this book!

During a particularly wintry cold spell in Oklahoma, a natural-gas pipeline explodes leaving one person dead and thousands without heat. White House Deputy Director for Homeland Security Samantha Reid leads the investigation in determining the cause. More explosions occur to the pipeline leaving many to wonder if terrorism is the root cause. When Reid meets the pipeline's company GeoGlobal Oil & Gas Vice President Tripp Adams, she immediately wants him. He appears to reciprocate. When he vanishes without a trace while on a business trip in Venezuela, Reid dumps her work and goes AWOL to rescue him. This exciting political romantic suspense thriller takes off from the onset as the temperature in the home of a Sooner couple drops to 30 degrees and never slows down until the final energy segue in the State of the Union address. The story line is fast-paced especially when Reid and Tripp meet for the first time. Although readers will doubt a high ranking political appointee would abandon her post even for love and use her body to gain access on her quest to save Tripp, fans will appreciate this exhilarating tale as Karna Small Bodman once again combines strange bedfellows; romance and politics (see CHECKMATE and GAMBIT). Harriet Klausner